The police on Sunday identified the 36-year-old shooter who killed at least seven people and wounded over 20 more in a shooting rampage while driving from Midland to Odessa in Texas. NewsHour Weekend’s Megan Thompson reports.

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Hari Sreenivasan:

Good evening, and thank you for joining us.

The death toll is now seven after yesterday's car chase and mass shooting in West Texas. Local and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating at more than a dozen crime scenes stretching between the cities of Midland and Odessa.

The gunfire began on the side of a highway and ended outside a movie theater. NewsHour Weekend's Megan Thompson has the latest.

Megan Thompson:

The rampage began with what Texas law enforcement officials say was a routine traffic stop on Saturday around 3:15 pm local time in Midland, a small city in western Texas.

From inside his car the driver opened fire, hitting a state trooper, and sped off.

The suspect described as a white man in his 30s shot randomly at civilians with an AR-type rifle as he led law enforcement on a chase from Midland to neighboring Odessa.

At one point, the suspect hijacked a postal service van, killing a postal worker, and continued his shooting spree. When it was over, 7 people were dead, ages 15 to 57, and more than 20 were wounded.

Terrified motorists captured the chase on their cell phones. While people evacuated from a movie theater in Odessa fled into the parking lot.

Law enforcement officials have not yet released a list of the victims and said they are still investigating the motive of the gunman.

Michael Gerke:

You'll notice I'm not naming the subject, and there's a reason for that. I refuse to. I'm not going to give him any notoriety for what he did.

Megan Thompson:

The chase came to an end with a shootout outside the Cinergy movie theater in Odessa, where the police killed the suspect, identified late this afternoon as 36-year-old Seth Ator.